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All-Butter Pie Crust Recipe

4.6 from 82 reviews

This All Butter Pie Crust recipe produces a tender, flaky, and buttery pie crust made from simple ingredients and a straightforward process. Perfect for both hot and cold pies, this crust can be rolled out, blind baked, or used to top your favorite fillings. The recipe uses chilled unsalted butter and ice water to achieve the ideal texture and flavor.

Ingredients

Scale

Dry Ingredients

  • 2¼ cups (281 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Wet Ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 sticks / 227 g) unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
  • ½ cup ice water

Instructions

  1. Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, and kosher salt until evenly combined.
  2. Cut in Butter: Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut the chilled cubed butter into the flour mixture until the butter pieces are the size of peas or smaller. Alternatively, a food processor can be used to incorporate the butter into the flour evenly.
  3. Add Ice Water: Drizzle in the ice water, two tablespoons at a time, stirring gently after each addition. Continue adding water until the dough just starts to come together and holds when pressed.
  4. Form Dough and Divide: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Form it into a ball and then divide it evenly into two halves. Flatten each half into a disc shape for easier rolling later.
  5. Chill Dough: Wrap each disc tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow the dough to rest and the butter to firm up, which promotes flakiness.
  6. Roll Out for Hot Pie: For hot pies, roll out half of the dough on a floured surface to about ¼ inch thick. Transfer to a 9-inch pie dish and shape it to fit. Roll out the second half if a top crust is required. Use as directed in your recipe and bake accordingly.
  7. Roll Out for Cold Pie: For cold pies, preheat the oven to 425°F. Roll out half the dough to ¼ inch thick and transfer it to a 9-inch pie dish. Dock the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork to prevent bubbling.
  8. Blind Bake Crust: Bake the crust for 12 minutes. Then place a pie crust guard or use foil to protect the edges, and bake for an additional 10 minutes until golden and fully cooked.
  9. Store Leftover Dough: Wrap any remaining dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for future use within a few days or freeze for longer storage.

Notes

  • Keep all ingredients, especially butter and water, as cold as possible to ensure a flaky crust.
  • Use a pastry cutter for best texture; a food processor is a faster alternative but be careful not to over-process.
  • Chilling the dough is essential to prevent shrinkage and to develop flavor.
  • Docking the crust helps prevent air bubbles during blind baking.
  • Pie crust guards or aluminum foil strips protect the edges from burning during baking.
  • This crust is versatile and works well with both sweet and savory pie fillings.
  • Wrap and refrigerate leftover dough tightly to prevent drying out.

Keywords: all butter pie crust, homemade pie crust, flaky pie crust, baking, pie dough, butter crust, blind baked pie crust